A Kano State High Court on Wednesday reserved ruling in a suit filed by the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and others, over the withholding of Kano Local Government allocations.
The applicants are the Chairman of NULGE, Ibrahim Muhd, along with Ibrahim Uba Shehu, Ibrahim Shehu Abubakar, Usman Isa, Sarki Alhaji Kurawa, and Malam Usman Imam.
The applicants, through their counsel, Mr. Bashir Yusuf-Muhammad, filed a motion ex parte dated Nov. 1, seeking the court to restrain the respondents from withholding or delaying allocations essential for local governance in the state.
The respondents include the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the 44 Kano Local Governments, UBA, Access Bank, and six other commercial banks.
When the case came up for hearing, Yusuf-Muhammad filed a reply to the notice of preliminary objection dated Nov. 20.
“The application is attached with a four-paragraph affidavit and a written address dated Nov. 3.
“We also filed an 11-paragraph better and further affidavit dated Nov. 20, along with one exhibit,” he stated.
Yusuf-Muhammad urged the court to discountenance the respondents’ counter-affidavit and grant the applicants’ reliefs.
Counsel to the 44 Local Governments, Mr. Eyitayo Fatogun (SAN), did not oppose the plaintiff’s application, adding that the disbursement of local government allocations should not be disrupted.
Responding, Counsel to the CBN, Mr. Ganiyu Ajape, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated Nov. 14, 2024, pursuant to Order 8 Rules (1) and (2) of the Fundamental Rights Procedure Rules.
“We filed our reaction with a six-paragraph counter-affidavit dated and filed on Nov. 14,” Ajape said.
He urged the court to strike out the CBN’s name from the suit, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and should not grant the applicants’ reliefs.
Similarly, Counsel to Guarantee Trust Bank (the 49th respondent), Mr. Faruk Asekome, filed a counter-affidavit dated Nov. 18 in response to the applicants’ originating motion, accompanied by a written address.
Asekome urged the court to strike out his client’s name with substantial costs, stating:
“My Lord, there is no reasonable cause of action disclosed against GT Bank. We have no role in the disbursement of local government allocations.”
Justice Ibrahim Musa-Muhammad adjourned the matter for ruling on the notice of preliminary objection and the substantive suit to a date that would be communicated to the parties.
NAN reports that the court had, on Nov. 6, restrained the CBN, AGF, and others from withholding the allocations of the 44 Local Governments in Kano State.
